Monday, April 23, 2007
Monday Musings
I rejoiced with those who said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."
Psalm 122:1
In remembering the events of the past week I came up with several thoughts that I might share. But, when it came to writing, I just felt led to share a discovery my husband and I have made that has become important in our lives. You might want to also visit the place we "go" on Sunday mornings.
We don't attend church anymore! WAIT! Before you assume we have turned our backs on our beliefs and lifetime habits, let me hasten to explain. Because of my husband's illness, and the fact that he is dependent on a ventilator for breathing, we are not able to attend church together. I occasionally go, when we work out arrangements for someone else to stay with Mr. L. We stay connected to events and happenings at the church through the email newsletter, friends, and our son and dil. Our dil is currently on staff at the church we have attended for over twenty-five years. We still have a church home--we just aren't there often.
We have had to be rather creative in satisfying our habit of having Sunday morning worship. Certainly we realize that we can study the Bible, pray, and worship by ourselves anytime. It does not have to be in a church building on Sunday morning. However, when you have "gone to church" on Sunday morning for your whole life it is difficult to give up that time with other believers. So we looked for alternatives.
We knew that there were multitudes of preachers on the internet and TV. Mr. L definitely understood the impact of video on delivering The Word to masses of people. After all, he had enjoyed a thirty-five year career that was based on the production of Christian video and print products. We had both used video and audio Bible study helps--in groups at church and by ourselves at home. But receiving our weekly Sunday morning worship message through TV on a regular basis was a new experience.
We tried several possibilities before finding some we enjoyed and felt comfortable spending time with. One of the first we found was a local minister from a denomination different from ours. We still enjoy watching him from time to time. We don't agree theologically on every point he makes, but we do respect his obvious commitment and dedication to serving the Lord.
We also worship occasionally with a church in another city. The well-loved pastor of this church went home to be with the Lord several years ago, but they still use tapes of his preaching in the program we watch. Seeing and hearing him preach is like a walk down memory lane because my husband had the privilege of working with this dignified man of God at one time. As you might imagine, these services are somewhat dated. Of course the message retains its relevancy! However, we are sometimes amused by the clothing styles we see in the congregation and indulge in a guessing game of what year we are watching. Yes, you can talk and play guessing games when you are in worship service at home!
As much as we enjoyed these worship services and messages, we still were not satisfied with our Sunday morning "going to church" experience--Until we found our TV at-home pastor. This man does not know us, we will probably never meet in this world, but he blesses us every week. We watched him on TV for some time and then his time slot changed from Sunday morning to some time later in the week. Which, when you think about it, is probably a better time to reach unchurched people or non-belivers. They might not be looking for a Sunday morning sermon like we are, but might find a Friday night program while clicking the remote. At any rate, we have recently started using the website to get our Sunday morning message.
If you want to hear a Good Word, or you find yourself in a situation similar to ours where you need an TV at-home pastor, we heartily recommend you find Bill Purvis from Cascade Hills Church in Columbus GA. He always has a good message, is a down-to-earth, practical, and committed follower of the Lord. We enjoy and appreciate his delivery and understanding of The Word. You can find him on the web here at www.cascadehills.com.
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."
Psalm 122:1
In remembering the events of the past week I came up with several thoughts that I might share. But, when it came to writing, I just felt led to share a discovery my husband and I have made that has become important in our lives. You might want to also visit the place we "go" on Sunday mornings.
We don't attend church anymore! WAIT! Before you assume we have turned our backs on our beliefs and lifetime habits, let me hasten to explain. Because of my husband's illness, and the fact that he is dependent on a ventilator for breathing, we are not able to attend church together. I occasionally go, when we work out arrangements for someone else to stay with Mr. L. We stay connected to events and happenings at the church through the email newsletter, friends, and our son and dil. Our dil is currently on staff at the church we have attended for over twenty-five years. We still have a church home--we just aren't there often.
We have had to be rather creative in satisfying our habit of having Sunday morning worship. Certainly we realize that we can study the Bible, pray, and worship by ourselves anytime. It does not have to be in a church building on Sunday morning. However, when you have "gone to church" on Sunday morning for your whole life it is difficult to give up that time with other believers. So we looked for alternatives.
We knew that there were multitudes of preachers on the internet and TV. Mr. L definitely understood the impact of video on delivering The Word to masses of people. After all, he had enjoyed a thirty-five year career that was based on the production of Christian video and print products. We had both used video and audio Bible study helps--in groups at church and by ourselves at home. But receiving our weekly Sunday morning worship message through TV on a regular basis was a new experience.
We tried several possibilities before finding some we enjoyed and felt comfortable spending time with. One of the first we found was a local minister from a denomination different from ours. We still enjoy watching him from time to time. We don't agree theologically on every point he makes, but we do respect his obvious commitment and dedication to serving the Lord.
We also worship occasionally with a church in another city. The well-loved pastor of this church went home to be with the Lord several years ago, but they still use tapes of his preaching in the program we watch. Seeing and hearing him preach is like a walk down memory lane because my husband had the privilege of working with this dignified man of God at one time. As you might imagine, these services are somewhat dated. Of course the message retains its relevancy! However, we are sometimes amused by the clothing styles we see in the congregation and indulge in a guessing game of what year we are watching. Yes, you can talk and play guessing games when you are in worship service at home!
As much as we enjoyed these worship services and messages, we still were not satisfied with our Sunday morning "going to church" experience--Until we found our TV at-home pastor. This man does not know us, we will probably never meet in this world, but he blesses us every week. We watched him on TV for some time and then his time slot changed from Sunday morning to some time later in the week. Which, when you think about it, is probably a better time to reach unchurched people or non-belivers. They might not be looking for a Sunday morning sermon like we are, but might find a Friday night program while clicking the remote. At any rate, we have recently started using the website to get our Sunday morning message.
If you want to hear a Good Word, or you find yourself in a situation similar to ours where you need an TV at-home pastor, we heartily recommend you find Bill Purvis from Cascade Hills Church in Columbus GA. He always has a good message, is a down-to-earth, practical, and committed follower of the Lord. We enjoy and appreciate his delivery and understanding of The Word. You can find him on the web here at www.cascadehills.com.
2 Comments:
I can so understand how you wouldn't be able to go to church regularly with your husband's condition.
My mom is very close to the Lord and doesn't really have major health issues, but rarely goes to church. She lives alone and is now 80...but actually watches Christian messages on TV several times a week.
Thank you for mentioning who blesses you and your husband...I'll be looking for him on Sunday that I am home!
Blessings!
When we were traveling we would quite often attend various churches along the way. Then we got so tired of going to "dead" churches where the people and services had no life. Believe me you can't tell by the name, denomination or what the building looks like as to exactly what you'll find inside! Consequently we began a similar pattern of which you speak here for our routine worship.
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